Metro Detroit Muslim and Jewish leaders react to release of hostages, prisoners in Israel-Hamas peace plan
Muslim and Jewish leaders in Metro Detroit are reacting to the U.S.-brokered Israel-Hamas peace plan.
On Monday, Hamas released all 20 of the remaining living Israeli hostages, and Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees after a two-year war. While local community leaders celebrate the release of hostages and prisoners, there's some uncertainty about the future.
Images of freed Palestinian prisoners greeted by massive crowds in the West Bank and Gaza are being broadcast all over the world. Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Michigan chapter, says it's a promising sight.
"We welcome that there is a temporary ceasefire, and captives and detainees have been returned and will be getting medical treatment," Walid said.
However, Walid says he is skeptical about the prospect of long-term peace.
"There's nothing in the peace deal that talks about anything leading to Palestinian self-determination, and in reality, as long as the illegal occupation continues and Israeli government is involved in land expansion, we don't see how there can be a sustained peace," Walid said.
In Bloomfield Hills, at the Jewish Federation of Detroit, leaders are optimistic about the future.
"It's cautious hope that Israel can find a partner in the Palestinian people, and not in terrorist organizations like Hamas," said Steven Ingber, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit.
Photos of Israeli hostages who will never see their families alive are displayed on the window of the Jewish Federation office. Dog tags and yellow ribbons are also worn to honor them.
"We celebrate the return of those 20, and we hope for the end of this, but we also have a great deal of sadness as we remember those who have fallen," Ingber said.
Ingber and Walid agree it's now up to world leaders to finally bring peace to the Middle East.
"The president of the United States of America has to make sure that the Netanyahu government sticks to its deal and does not go back to bringing troops further into Gaza or to bomb Gazan land even more," Walid said.
"The hope is that world leaders step up and enforce, and we don't allow terrorists to take over control of swaths of land, and we can all live in peace," Ingber said.